Turnbull schools commitment demand

24 November 2017

The Australian Education Union has demanded Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s full commitment to leadership and teaching in schools following its release of a submission to the Review to Achieve Educational Excellence in Australian Schools.

‘Principals need more time to lead, and teachers need more time to teach,’ said Correna Haythorpe, Federal President of the Australian Education Union.

‘That demands an end to unnecessary bureaucratic compliance, better initial teacher education, improved professional development, and more time for quality teaching and learning,’ she said.

The submission is based on an extensive survey of more than 4000 public school principals and teachers around Australia.

The terms of reference of the review preclude it from examining the adequacy of overall schools funding, despite a $17 billion cut compared to funding promised by Labor to 2027.

‘You can’t build a high-performing school system without needs-based funding that ensures all schools are properly resourced to 100 per cent of the Schooling Resource Standard,’ Haythorpe concluded.